Mrs Sherlock Holmes
Did you know that women have been working as Private Investigators for as long as men? In fact, during the 1920s and 30s, it was one of the better paying jobs a woman could get, and as having children was not an obstacle and you didn’t need any particular qualifications or training, there were no barriers to women entering the field.
According to historian Caitlin Davies, author of Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths, women were hired because of their discretion, and their ability to move around largely unnoticed (and if you think that says something about women’s place in society, I imagine you’re right). One of the most famous British woman sleuths of her era, Annette Kerner, was a trained opera singer. She established the Mayfair Detective Agency just a few doors down from Holmes’s legendary address in Baker Street, and was renowned for being able to disguise herself effortlessly in a variety of roles – as a housecleaner, as a socialite, as an opium addict – to follow leads. She was described as The Woman of A Thousand Faces in one prominent magazine.
In her book, Davies describes how women have been running profitable detective agencies since the 1850s – and how some women, such as the Liverpool “Mrs Sherlock Holmes”, Zena Scott-Archer (what a name!) were pioneers in the field and had long careers.
Women are also prominent in the new crop of real-life detectives, making up a third of trainees – and yes, it’s preferred you have some training these days. Fortunately, while it’s handy to have a Masters in Criminology or Forensics, or some basic skills in Investigative Services, you still don’t need any of those things to hang your shingle as a private detective, so feel free to give it a shot!
THE KILLING CODE paperback is out!
The release of the US paperback of THE KILLING CODE has finally happened! It was pushed back a number of times but we finally got it out – you can find copies here.
Publishers seem to be doing this – pushing back the paperback release – more now, and I’m not sure why. I think it’s to give hardcovers a longer time to accrue sales? But it’s annoying for those who like to buy in paperback, so my apologies. The paperback release of SOME SHALL BREAK should be happening in June this year, but I’ve already heard it’ll be pushed back – I’ll keep you updated on that.
…and THE KILLING CODE is a Kindle Monthly Deal
Fortuitously, The Killing Code is also available for only $2.99USD on Kindle this month! If you prefer to read in digital, now is a great time to grab an ebook copy right here.
THE KILLING CODE giveaway is closed
Thank you to all who entered! I’ve contacted the three winners, and their parcels are on the way. I’ll let you know when I have another giveaway planned.
NONE SHALL SLEEP is on Kindle Unlimited! And on Borrowbox!
Meanwhile, in my other book universe, you can now borrow None Shall Sleep on Kindle Unlimited which is pretty cool. I haven’t been told how long Emma and Simon and the gang will be available on KU, so I guess take advantage of it while you can.
And in other excellent news, None Shall Sleep is now part of Bolinda audio, so you can grab it on Borrowbox with your library membership 😊
Btw, if you’re in the States, you can still buy a cheap paperback copy of None Shall Sleep (and a heavily discounted copy hardcover copy of Some Shall Break) through Target.
SOME SHALL BREAK is an Aurealis finalist!
I was extremely thrilled to hear this news! The Aurealis committee made the shortlist announcement late last month, and I was very chuffed.
I missed out on attending in-person due to covid when None Shall Sleep won an Aurealis, so I think it’s pretty likely that I’ll be attending the award ceremony this year – although I think it’s unlikely my book will win, because the field this year is really strong. But keep an eye out for more announcements about the Aurealis Awards and Continuum, and if you’re around for either of these events I’ll probably see you there!
Retreat! Retreat!
I’m going on writing retreat this month, which is awesome because I have a ton of writing to do.
I spent some time last week brainstorming a new YA thriller idea with another writer friend, and the inspiration came thick and fast. So I’ve already put together a pitch document (I talked about what selling on pitch involves in Nailbiters recently) and now I’m working on writing the submission excerpt pages.
I’m also planning to brainstorm ideas for a new adult pitch – I have a title and a concept, and they are both great, but I need to do significantly more work on the details. If I sit down with some butcher paper and coloured pens and do some mind-mapping, I reckon I can come up with some cool twists and turns…
Finally – I still have half a book to write! None Shall Sleep Book 3 is coming along well, and I’d just reached the midpoint of the story when I had to rudely push it aside in order to work on the new YA pitch. But once my New Thing submission pages are done, I can dive back in 😊
GUS AND THE MISSING BOY launch
This was so delightful! Troy Hunter is such an excellent human, and the turnout for the launch at Readings Books State Library Vic was huge.
The premise for this book is really fascinating: what if you were a teenager researching a school project, and you found your own photo on a Missing Persons website? You can grab a copy of Gus and the Missing Boy at your local bookstore or online, with my recommendation.
DEEP IS THE FEN launch
Very excited for this! If you’re in Melbourne on Wednesday 17 April, feel free to join us at 6.30PM at Dymocks CBD Collins St as we launch Lili Wilkinson’s new fantasy book Deep is the Fen!
Lili is in conversation with amazing fantasy author CS Pacat, of Captive Prince and Dark Rise fame, and it will be an excellent night all round so please do RSVP and come along 😊
Happy Easter! Selamat Hari Raya! Bon eclipse!
To all those who celebrate, happy Easter to you! I hope your Easter weekend was calm and joyous.
And happy Eid to all friends who’ve reached the end of Ramadan fasting month! Selamat Hari Raya to all my Indonesian friends, I hope your Idul Fitri celebrations are full of generosity and family time.
We also had a full solar eclipse this week (the Rapture didn’t happen though! Sorry if you’re disappointed about that) and for just a brief moment, everyone stopped looking at their phones and looked up at the sky (with the appropriate eyewear, I hope). It was an amazing moment, captured most brilliantly here, I think (click through for the video):
What I’m watching/listening to
I started watching The Zone of Interest really late at night on a whim, thinking I would watch the first half hour to see if it was interesting enough to complete the following day…
Friends, I sat up until 2AM to finish it. It’s an extraordinary movie, which was actually filmed in a pretty extraordinary way. But more incredible is how it reveals the banality of human horror, the superficial PG-ratedness of it all. This is a Holocaust film in which nothing awful happens onscreen. Seriously, the film could easily have been given a G or PG rating, because the action is so bland. But you’re aware of what’s going on just over the garden wall, because you know about it and you can hear it. Throughout the film, the soundtrack of horror continues in the background like blood-soaked wallpaper, and the subjects of this almost documentary-style movie continue to ignore it, excising more and more of their souls to do so…
It's a staggering work of film-making and witnessing, and if you have the bandwidth for something like this, I highly recommend you watch it.
In other culture news, it’s CARRIE’s 50th birthday (unbelievable that she’s almost the same age I am!) and fans like me are celebrating. If you love Stephen King’s first absolute barn-burner of a novel, I rec this essay here by Grady Hendrix on the genesis of the book, as well as Neil McRobert’s excellent essay here, and also recommend you have a listen to this fantastic deep dive into the story, the book, and the film on the Talking Scared podcast with host McRobert and authors Nat Cassidy (MARY) and Ally Malinenko (GHOST GIRL).
That’s all I can fit in this month – sorry for the late arrival of the newsletter, but my laptop crapped out last week and I had to go buy a new one (it gave me a little heart attack, but thank god for cloud storage, is all I can say). Anyway, I’m glad to be back in action! Until next time, stay well, have a great April, and happy reading!
xxEllie
Speaking of lady detectives, I recommend the books No Life For a Lady and How To Solve Murders Like a Lady by Hannah Dolby. Set in the late 1890s, I found the main character to be endearing and the plot highly entertaining.